


Let It Snow

by Leslie_Knope



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Meet-Cute, Skiing, Snowed In
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-10 19:12:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12918411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leslie_Knope/pseuds/Leslie_Knope
Summary: Derek spends most of his first day on skis either falling down or staring at his cute instructor's ass. He invites him over for acasual, post-ski dinner at his cabin afterward, but he's not prepared for getting snowed in together. Or the power going out.





	Let It Snow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [42hrb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/42hrb/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY [HANNAH](https://exhuastedpigeon.tumblr.com/)! I ♥ you.
> 
> Also: extra-special thanks to [tiptoe39](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiptoe39), who started this AU with some [delightful headcanons](http://tiptoe39.tumblr.com/post/167751679361/au-where-dex-and-nursey-get-stuck-in-a-cabin-in) and graciously allowed me expand on her ideas.

Derek slammed the door of his rental car and sucked in a greedy breath of the fresh mountain air. His exhale puffed visibly around him, and he slung his duffel bag higher over his shoulder as he trudged through the icy slush toward the lodge.

The lobby was big and sprawling, with a vaulted ceiling, lots of stone and leather, and a tall fireplace. He waited in the short line at the reception desk and smiled at the young woman behind the counter.

“Are you checking in?” she said brightly.

“Uh, I think so,” Derek said, scratching at his beard. “This is kinda awkward, but I don’t know exactly what I’m checking in for? This whole trip was a gift.”

The woman laughed. “Not a problem. What’s your name?”

“Derek Nurse.”

She nodded slowly and tapped at the computer in front of her. “Ah. Well, welcome to Vermont, Mr. Nurse! You’re checked in for our all-inclusive ski package, which includes lift passes, all ski equipment rentals, and a full-time ski butler.”

Derek’s jaw dropped. “Wow. And what exactly is a _ski butler_?”

“A personal ski instructor, basically, who will take care of your equipment and escort you around the mountain.”

“Wow,” he said again. He made a mental note to get his moms a _very_ nice Christmas gift next year.

“You’re staying in one of our mountain cabins, Tom will show you the way.”

She gestured to one of the bellhops standing by the front door. Derek grinned at her and snatched a mint from the dish on top of the desk. “Thanks!”

The mountain cabins were separate from the main lodge, it turned out, nestled into the woods on the side of the mountain about a five-minute golf cart ride away. Derek’s cabin was small but sumptuously-decorated, exactly as he would have imagined a mountain cabin to look. There was a giant leather couch in front of an equally-giant fireplace, and he sunk down on it with a sigh. He spotted a black leather book on the coffee table embossed with _Room Service_ on the front, and his eyes lit up.

* * *

Derek leaned against the jagged stone wall by the fireplace, craning his neck to get a better view.

According to the itinerary he found in his room, he was supposed to meet his “ski butler”—still the most ridiculous term he’d ever heard—in the lobby at nine a.m. He was a little early and wasn’t exactly in the most visible position, tucked in the corner like he was, but it gave him the best line of sight to spy on the hot guy on the other side of the lobby.

He was tall and broad, probably about Derek’s size, with tousled red hair tucked under a gray beanie. He had a layer of light stubble on his jaw and looked seriously fit, not to mention seriously hot. The sight of him was a painful reminder that Derek hadn’t gotten laid in a few months, so he just stared, like a creeper, enjoying the view.

But the redheaded guy was still there when nine rolled around, still looking around as if he might _also_ be looking for someone, so Derek pushed himself off the wall and headed toward him. Worth a shot, right?

“Hi,” he called out, once he was within earshot. “Are you Will, by any chance?”

The guy turned to him and blinked. “Yes,” he said slowly. “Are you Derek?”

“Yep.” He held out his hand, and Will took it, shaking it firmly. His eyes were this nice light brown color that matched the freckles on his cheeks, and Derek couldn’t believe his luck that _this_ was the guy who was supposed to follow him around for the next few days. He mentally upgraded his moms’ Christmas present _again_. “Can’t lie, I was looking for someone in a coat and tails.”

Will lifted an eyebrow and smirked. “That’s your one allotted butler joke. Any more and you’re outta here.”

“I don’t remember seeing that stipulation in the paperwork, I’m not sure I would’ve agreed to this.”

Will laughed, and Derek was unreasonably proud. “It was in the fine print.”

“Aw, damn.”

Will led them out the back door of the lobby, and Derek eagerly followed. “So have you ever skied before?”

“Yes,” Derek blurted out, then immediately grimaced. He scratched at his cheek. “Uh, kinda.”

Will’s eyebrows lifted. “Kinda?”

“When I was younger,” Derek lied. “But it’s been a while, so we’re basically starting from scratch.”

“Starting from scratch,” Will repeated. “Got it. Come on in, then, let’s get you suited up.”

The ski rental hut-shack thing, or whatever it was called, was teeming with people, but Will led them straight toward the back. He started talking about things like boot fit and ski length and the importance of helmets and who knew what else—Derek was trying to pay attention honestly, but it was a little hard to concentrate when Will was crouching down or bending over or doing anything, really. He had strong thighs and a nice curve to his ass and biceps that bulged in the tight long-sleeved shirt he was wearing and…and he was saying something, shit.

“Derek?”

He rubbed his neck and tried to look nonchalant. “Yep?”

“I asked if you were ready to go.”

“Yeah, sure. Definitely.” Derek hesitated. He probably shouldn’t have lied about skiing before. “But we, uh…we aren’t heading straight for the hard slopes, right?”

“Uh, no. We’ll be starting out on the little bunny slope where everyone starts.”

Derek nodded. He was athletic, he could handle this, right?

* * *

“You’re doing fine, I swear.”

Derek sighed and looked up at Will. There was a smile threatening to curl at the corner of his mouth, and the sun was reflecting off the snow and back into his face, making his hair shine where it poked out of his helmet. It was a pretty sight, Derek wouldn’t lie, but he wished he didn’t always see it from this angle.

He held up his hand, and Will grabbed it to help haul him back to his feet.

“I feel like you’re just saying that. To soothe my ego or something.”

Will tilted his head. “Does your ego need soothing?”

“Very funny,” he grumbled, and tragically, Will finally let go of his hand.

“You really are doing fine. It just takes a little practice because it’s not really like anything else. Everyone struggles at the beginning.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve seen like seven kids graduate from this bunny slope since I’ve been here.”

Will laughed. “I think you’re ready to graduate.”

“Dude, are you serious? I _just_ fell down. Again.”

Derek really liked the sound of Will’s laugh, even when it was at his expense. “Yeah, you have a little trouble stopping. But you can go in a reasonably straight line and even turn a little bit. So let’s go try a real run.”

“So that’s it? I don’t get a hat or a diploma or anything?”

“I think all those kids who were ahead of you got them all already.”

Will had a spectacular straight face, and Derek tried to punch him in the shoulder but unfortunately unbalanced himself on his skis. Will reached out to steady him, but Derek managed to ski away. “I’ve already graduated!” he called out over his shoulder. “You can’t take that back!”

Will caught up to him in about three seconds. “Spoken like a true child,” he said dryly, and Derek shrugged.

As they waited in line for the lift, Derek shifted his weight on his skis. “Okay, can I confess something?”

“What?”

Derek jerked his chin toward the ski lift. “I’m, uh, a little scared of that thing.”

Will laughed, but it was fond. “It’s easier than it looks. Are you afraid of heights?” he asked, and Derek shook his head. “Then you’ll be fine. C’mon.”

When it was their turn in line, Will pushed Derek forward at the correct time and told him when to sit down on the bench, then pulled the bar over their heads.

“See? Easy. But most people are nervous their first time.”

“Didn’t you say that you worked mostly with kids?” Derek asked, and Will smirked.

Now that he was actually _on_ the lift, Derek thought this might be his new favorite part of skiing. The view was nice, as they slowly rose above the trees, and he felt almost weightless with his feet dangling, Will quiet next to him.

* * *

“So why’d you lie to me about having skied before?” Will asked mildly, and Derek nearly choked on his spoonful of chili. Will was smiling a little, that asshole, around the rim of his water glass, and Derek threw a crumpled-up napkin at him. They’d taken a break for lunch at the resort café, and while Derek thought he was doing pretty well, clearly his inexperience was painfully obvious.

“How’d you know I lied?”

“You just admitted it.”

Derek rolled his eyes. “Jerk. I, uh…” He didn’t think the truth— _I wanted to impress you_ —would go over well. “I just thought I’d be able to handle it, you know? I’m athletic, I played hockey in college.”

Will smiled. “So you play hockey but have never skied before?”

“Nope. I’ve always wanted to, though. This whole trip was a Christmas gift from my moms.”

Derek watched carefully, but there was no discernible reaction on Will’s face from the _moms_ comment. He just took another bite of his burger. “That was nice of them.”

“I know, right? I’m sure your services aren’t cheap.” As soon as the words were out of Derek’s mouth, he winced. “Oh god. Does that count as my second butler joke?”

Will tilted his head, as if he was pretending to consider it. “No, that was more of a _hooker_ joke. So I’ll let it slide.”

“How benevolent of you, thank you.”

* * *

Derek was getting the hang of it pretty decently, he thought, except that he had lots of trouble stopping. He couldn’t seem to move his feet right in order to stop, for the way Will had shown him, and at the end of a run he ended up falling over or more often, crashing gently into Will.

By _accident_ , he swore.

“If only I could _stop_ ,” Derek declared, “I would be a passable skier by now.”

Will laughed. “Wait, you said you played hockey, right?” he asked, and Derek nodded. “I should have thought of this sooner. It’s harder for most people, but it’ll probably be easier for you.”

“What?”

“It’s called a hockey stop. Keep your skis pretty close together and then just make a turn when you want to stop, keeping your weight on the outside leg.” They were at the top of a small slope, and Will skied down for a second before making a neat right turn and coming to a stop so that he was twisted to face Derek. “Just like on skates.”

Derek followed suit down the slope and pretended that he was on the ice again. He turned to the left and overbalanced just a bit, but he still managed to slide to a stop on his own accord. A satisfying amount of powder puffed up around his feet, and Derek grinned. “Awesome.”

“Nice. Now you’re basically a pro.”

“You really saved me from a lifetime of embarrassment as I skidded into people in order to stop, so thank you.”

Will laughed and led him toward the lift again.

“Did you ever play? Hockey, I mean,” Derek asked.

“Yeah, at UMaine.”

They played against each other a couple of times, they quickly found out, and they talked hockey for the rest of the lift ride.

Derek hopped down smoothly but then tripped, and Will had to grab his arm and tug him out of the way before the next one came through. “I got a little cocky about the lift,” Derek admitted, and Will laughed.

“One time, I fell down and caused this whole pile up and they had to stop the lift. It was super embarrassing.”

“Is that true?”

“I mean, I was like eight, but yeah.”

Derek shoved him away with a groan. “Hey, could do we a blue one? You think I’m ready?”

“What, are you bored?”

“No!” he exclaimed. Between alternately staring at Will and trying not to fall down, Derek was the furthest thing from bored. “Honest. I just thought you might be.”

“You’re worried about _me_ being bored?”

“C’mon, it can’t be that much fun taking me around the green runs all day.”

“I’ve had worse.”

“Aw,” Derek cooed, “you promise?”

Will rolled his eyes. “We’ll do one blue run, for the last one. C’mon.”

* * *

Derek survived the blue run—barely—and after he returned his gear, Will walked with him back toward the lodge. Derek paused at the path that veered off to the cabins and cleared his throat. He wasn’t yet convinced that this was a good idea, but he was going to do it anyway.

“I know that your, uh, work is over. And I totally understand if you just wanna book it or whatever. But I have wine and was gonna make dinner and you—you should join me.”

Derek had no idea if there were rules about that sort of thing, but he’d definitely had a fun time spending all day with Will and he knew he’d kick himself if he didn’t say anything.

Their gazes locked for a long second, and then Will nodded. “Yeah, actually. That would be great, thanks.”

His smile was small but genuine, and Derek grinned back. “Awesome. C’mon.”

He let them in, and Will kicked off his shoes before stepping into the kitchen and peering around. “Do they stock these places with food? I’ve always wondered.”

“There’s some staples and stuff, but I went to the store so I didn’t have to eat room service for every single meal.” Derek crouched down to rifle through the cabinet next to the stove. “Please be prepared for the best grilled cheese of your life.”

Will laughed and tugged off his beanie before scrubbing his hand through his hair. “Hey, can I use your charger? I think my phone’s just about dead.”

“Yeah, sure.” Derek jerked his chin toward the door to the main bedroom. “It’s in there, on the dresser.”

Derek heated the skillet and took the cheese out of the fridge. By the time he set the first slice of buttered bread down to sizzle in the pan, Will was perched one of the bar stools, fiddling with the bottle of wine that was there.

“So is this where you wow me with your cooking skills?”

Derek scoffed. “Is that meant to imply that I _didn’t_ wow you with my skiing skills?”

“Do I have to answer that?”

“Very funny,” Derek grumbled, and Will grinned.

“Do you have a corkscrew?”

“You seem like the kind of guy who could open a wine bottle without one.”

“Is that a compliment?” Will asked, tilting his head. “I think I’ll take it as one.”

Derek laughed. “There better be one somewhere because the wine came with the room.”

“Oh, thank god.”

Will slid off the stool and started rummaging through the drawers of the kitchen island. He found one, judging from the soft victorious noise Derek heard behind him, and then Will was _right_ next to him, reaching up into the upper cabinets next to the stove. He pulled down two wine glasses and then just continued to stand there, their shoulders brushing, as if he weren’t knocking Derek off balance with every breath, as he opened the wine and poured two glasses.

Somehow he still smelled amazing, even though they’d spent all day exercising, basically. _Derek_ probably didn’t smell amazing. Shit, he should probably go change his shirt, at least, and put on more deodorant. Or would that be too obvious?

Derek caught the slight scent of something burning and cursed under his breath as he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. He carefully flipped the sandwich in the pan, holding his breath, but the other side was a pleasant dark brown, just on the edge of burnt. Thank god. Will had said it as a joke, but Derek was definitely hoping to impress him. As much as it was possible to impress someone with grilled cheese, that is.

“Here.”

Will held out one of the glasses, and their fingers brushed as Derek reached for it. “Thanks.”

This was firmly verging into date-like territory, right? He took a long sip and tried not to think about it.

“Plate, please.”

Will obediently held one out, and Derek flipped the sandwich onto it. Will lifted the plate and took a sniff. “This does look pretty good.”

“I wasn’t kidding, I am the best at grilled cheese.”

Will moved away, and Derek was able to concentrate on making two more sandwiches without fear of burning them. He turned and expected to see Will at the table or the island, but he was settled on the couch and had turned the fireplace on.

Derek exhaled and picked up his glass of wine. “Hurry and eat before it gets cold,” he called out.

Will scooted over a little on the couch to make room. “Grilled cheese and wine. Dinner of champions.”

“Uh, excuse me, your sarcasm is not appreciated. I _am_ a champion, I successfully skied down a blue run today.”

“And you stopped on your own and everything.”

“Don’t lie, you definitely miss me running into you every time I tried to stop.”

Will laughed but took a bite of his sandwich instead of responding. “Holy shit, this _is_ good,” he said, around a mouthful, and Derek grinned.

“Told you,” he said, more than a little smug. “Best one you’ve ever had?”

“Mmhmm,” he mumbled.

Derek wolfed down half of his first sandwich—skiing made you hungry, turned out—and then tried to slow down. “So how did you end up as a _ski butler_ in Vermont?”

Will laughed and fiddled with his glass, making the wine swirl. “So I moved to Boston after college for a job at a big consulting firm.”

“What kind of consulting?”

“IT. My degree’s in computer science.”

“That’s cool. Did you like it?”

Will made a face. “Kinda. Some of the work was interesting, but it was exhausting. After three years, I was totally burned out.”

“Yikes. Did you have to travel a lot?”

“Yeah. I mean, it paid really well and I mostly liked the people I worked with, but it was just—I don’t know, not the work that I could see myself doing for the rest of my life, you know?”

Derek nodded. “The whole big business thing never really appealed to me, either. So how’d you get from guy in a suit to ski bum?”

“Ski bum, really?”

Derek shrugged and tried not to imagine what Will would look like in a suit. “I’m not allowed to make butler jokes, I have to work with what I’m given.”

Will rolled his eyes. “I quit last October, and one of my college friends who works up here convinced me to take this job. I grew up skiing and used to be an instructor in high school, so…” Will shrugged. “Seemed like a good enough idea.”

“Wow. So is this, like, your new career path?”

Will snorted and pointedly elbowed Derek as he took another bite of his grilled cheese. “Uh, no. It’s fun for now, but I’m not sure if I’ll do another season or go back to Boston this summer.”

“It’s fun cause you get to spend days with students like me, right?”

Will laughed. “Can’t say I’ve ever had a student like you.”

“I’m taking that as a compliment,” Derek said confidently. He picked up the last sandwich. “You wanna split the third one?”

“Yes, please.”

Derek gently split the sandwich with his hands and offered half to Will.

“Thanks. So what about you,” he asked, “what do you do?”

“I work at a small publishing house and also write on the side.”

“Oh, wow. That’s cool.”

“In Boston,” he added, hopefully as a casual aside, and Will’s eyebrows lifted as he leaned forward to refill both of their wine glasses.

“What do you write?” he asked, and Derek shrugged.

“Mostly poetry, short stories. I’ve also been tinkering with a novel for like three years that will probably never see the light of day.”

Will laughed. “Well I for one hope that it does.”

Will’s voice was genuine, and Derek ducked his head and took another sip of wine before he said anything. “Thanks.”

After they finished, Derek rinsed the plates, scraping off the worst of the dried cheese, and put them in the dishwasher alongside the wine glasses. He didn’t have the initiative to clean the skillet, but he set it in the sink and filled it with hot, soapy water. Good enough.

“Oh, shit.”

Derek turned around to see Will standing in the bedroom doorway, staring down at his phone. He made a questioning noise, but Will just cursed again and strode over to the large window. He slid the curtain open, and Derek’s eyes widened at the sight of what looked like a blizzard. The snow was coming down heavily, swirling around in the lamplight.

“Oh, shit,” he echoed. “Is this that storm I heard people talking about? I thought it was supposed to be west of here.”

“Yeah, so did everyone else. I guess it shifted over the past few hours.”

Derek crossed the room and stood next to him, shoulder-to-shoulder, in front of the window. “How much snow are they anticipating?”

“Over a foot. And a lot of wind.”

“Wow.” They stood and watched for a minute, and then Derek bumped their shoulders together. “Hey, I don’t know how far your place is, but you shouldn’t go out in that. There’s another bedroom, you can stay here.”

Will turned to look at him, his face shrouded in shadows from the faint light outside, and Derek tried to make his expression look as innocent as possible. He probably didn’t do a very good job.

But after a second, Will nodded. “Yeah, that would probably be best. Thanks.”

“So you’re the king of snowstorms,” Derek said, after they’d watched the snow come down for a couple minutes. “What should we do?”

Will gave him a look. “You told me you’ve spent your whole life in the northeast. You should be just as familiar with snowstorms as I am.”

“Yeah, but it’s different in _Maine_ , you guys are all rugged and shit. The true snow experts.”

Will rolled his eyes. “Fine. You need a fire, and you need hot chocolate.”

Derek made a flourishing gesture toward the roaring fireplace across the room. “One down. Do you think they have hot chocolate here?”

“I think it would be criminal if they didn’t.”

Derek laughed and went back into the kitchen to hunt through the two small cabinets that apparently served as the pantry. “Bingo,” he said triumphantly, holding up two hot chocolate packets.

“Not as good as actual cocoa powder, but it’ll do.”

Will dug out a saucepan from the cabinet next to the stove and poured milk into it as he flicked on the burner. Derek leaned against the countertop and crossed his arms over his chest. “You know you can just make it in the microwave, right?”

“Did you or did you not _just_ anoint me the king of snowstorms? I think I know what I’m doing.”

Derek lifted his hands in mock supplication. “Okay, okay. I’ll shut up.”

He watched Will watch the milk in the pot, then tried to quickly avert his eyes when Will looked up. “Don’t just sit there and look pretty. At least look for marshmallows or something.”

_You think I’m pretty?_ was on the tip of Derek’s tongue, but he managed to hold it back. “Got it, boss.”

He couldn’t find any marshmallows, but he did scrounge up two big mugs. The two of them sat on the couch and drank, interspersing small talk with peaceful silence. Derek was pleasantly tired from the skiing and warm from the fire and the hot chocolate and the press of Will’s shoulder against his—altogether one of the most pleasant sensations in his recent memory.

The lights flickered twice before going out completely, and Derek jumped, causing hot chocolate to slosh over his hand. “Fuck!” he yelped.

“Shit, you okay?”

Will took the mug from him, and Derek nodded and lifted his wrist to his mouth to lick the liquid away. “Yeah. Ow.” The skin on his hand smarted a little, and he clenched his fist before taking his mug back from Will. “So…no power.”

“They’ve got generators for the main hotel, but I don’t know how they deal with these cabins. It might take a little longer.”

“At least there’s the fire. We should be okay, right?”

“Yeah, definitely. And there’s another fireplace in your bedroom, isn’t there?”

Derek nodded and stood up to make his way carefully through the dark toward the bedroom. He changed into sweatpants and then rummaged blindly through his suitcase for two hoodies, putting one on.

When he stepped back into the living room, Will was spreading the comforter from the other bedroom over the couch. “Figured I should sleep in here,” he explained. “With the fire. Though hopefully the power will come back soon.”

“Yeah, good idea,” Derek said, handing him the other hoodie. Will tugged it over his head and looked down at it with a little laugh as he sat down.

“Thanks. So I’m guessing you were number 28?”

“Obviously.”

Derek hovered awkwardly next to the coffee table. He should just go to bed, right? Will probably wanted to go to sleep. It wasn’t like they could do anything with the power off, anyway. He took a step backward, toward the bedroom, but Will moved the comforter and nodded toward the spot next to him.

“At least finish your hot chocolate.”

Derek skirted the sharp edge of the coffee table and sat down. “It is pretty good,” he admitted. As he picked up his mug, Will tugged the comforter back into place over his lap. “So is the power outage part of your perfect snowstorm plan?”

Will laughed and nestled down further into the couch. “Not usually, no. But if you’re warm and safe and don’t have anywhere to be…” He trailed off and shrugged. “Then it’s not so bad.”

“No,” Derek agreed. “Not so bad at all.”

The darkness and the coziness was making Derek sleepy, and he wrapped both hands around his mug, trying to take as much warmth from it as he could. It was still fairly warm in the room, but he knew they wouldn’t have that luxury for much longer.

Will drained his hot chocolate and braced a hand on Derek’s thigh as he leaned forward to set his empty mug on the coffee table. Before Derek could overthink it and before the moment could pass him by, he laid his hand over Will’s.

Will froze, caught in a half-crouch, and Derek immediately regretted everything. He started to pull back, but Will flipped his hand over, sat back, and turned toward Derek, all in one motion. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness enough that he could see Will’s face, about six inches from his own. His eyes were wide, his mouth open just the slightest bit, and Derek swallowed.

“Hi,” he said dumbly.

The corners of Will’s mouth turned up into a tiny smile, and his fingers tightened around Derek’s. “Hi.”

To buy himself some more time, Derek took the last couple sips of his hot chocolate and placed the mug on the coffee table next to Will’s. Their hands were still intertwined, and Will tugged and Derek twisted and then they were kissing.

He took a sharp breath in through his nose and brought his hand up to Will’s neck, clutching at him as their mouths slid together seamlessly. It was sweeter than Derek had been expecting, warm and slow rather than frenzied and harsh, and he was so fucking into it.

“I didn’t know,” he mumbled.

“Didn’t know what?”

“If it was just me.”

Will laughed against his mouth. “Um, no. I wasn’t aware it was possible to be so attracted to someone who kept falling down.”

Derek turned his head to laugh, and Will seamlessly shifted to kissing down his neck. “I was doing it on purpose,” Derek said, “to make myself seem endearing.”

“Nice try,” Will murmured against his throat. He leaned back a little, tugging at the nape of Derek’s neck, and Derek went with it eagerly. He pressed forward until Will tipped onto his back, one hand still holding onto Derek’s neck and sliding up into his hair.

Derek shifted, trying to get his knee under him, but it slipped against the leather couch and his foot swiped one of the mugs on the coffee table. It landed with an innocuous thud against the carpet, and Derek dropped his face into Will’s neck with a groan. Will laughed and rubbed soothingly at the top of Derek’s back. “So this seems dangerous.”

“Yeah, we’re a little tall for this.” Derek dropped a kiss against Will’s collarbone. “Uh, the bedroom?”

“Sure.”

Derek scrambled to his feet, without breaking dishware or kneeing Will somewhere unpleasant, and wrapped the comforter around his shoulders like a cape. He offered Will a hand and hauled him to his feet before dragging him toward the bedroom.

He veered toward the fireplace and flipped the switch, but nothing happened. He tried it a couple more times and frowned. “Will.”

“Yeah?”

Derek looked over his shoulder and swallowed. Will was turning the bed down, his hair sticking up in a thousand directions—god, he was so fucking cute. “It isn’t working. Does it not work when the power’s out?”

“It should, it just might be the switch that doesn’t work.” Will dropped down to his hands and knees and opened the panel at the bottom of the fireplace. He peered at the various buttons for a while, then twisted one of the knobs. The fire roared to life after just a couple seconds, and Will made a satisfied noise. “There you go.”

“Oh.” Derek was more interested in the curve of Will’s ass, and judging from Will’s smirk as he stood up, he knew it. “Thanks.”

Derek tossed the extra comforter at the foot of the bed and sat down on it, pulling a faux-seductive face. Will laughed but climbed onto the bed anyway and pushed Derek back. The bed was a king, and it was so much nicer to have room to roll over, to spread Will out on his back and kiss him until his head was pressed back firmly into the pillows.

Will’s hand snuck under his layers, his thumb sweeping across his ribs. “Are you warm enough?” he asked, and Derek nodded as he stripped out of his hoodie and shirt. He got a little stuck—damn zipper—but Will tugged at the bundle of cloth until it came off his arms.

Will pushed him onto his back, his hand sliding up his chest to cup his cheek, and Derek snagged a finger in the collar of his hoodie. “Can you—take this off, fuck.”

Will balanced on his knees, trying to stay mostly covered by the blanket, and stripped his layers off, tossing everything carelessly off the side of the bed. His abs were even better than what Derek had been picturing in his head, which was an impressive feat.

He pulled Will on top of him again and groaned at the feel of their bare chests pressed together. His hips shifted up, mostly of their own accord, and he made a low noise when the heavy bulge of Will’s dick nudged against his thigh.

“Fuck,” Will whispered, and Derek murmured his agreement as he twisted his head, searching for Will’s lips. The kiss got progressively more frantic as they rocked against each other, Derek’s hands locked onto Will’s ass, and as enjoyable as it was, Derek would prefer that this not end with him coming in his sweatpants.

He peeled his hands away from Will’s ass, somehow, and dumped him toward the side, one hand immediately going to his waistband. “Can I—”

Will groaned, nodding, and Derek slipped his hand into his pants to circle his dick. He squeezed and stroked up, but it was dry. Derek made an irritated noise. “I have lube.” He paused, then winced. “In the bathroom.”

Will huffed out a breath and looked toward the bathroom on the other side of the room. “I’ll rock-paper-scissors you for who has to go get it.”

“Oh, you’ve got yourself a deal,” Derek said as he took his hand out of Will’s pants and brought his fist up between them.

“One-two-three-go,” Will chanted, then made a disappointed noise when he threw scissors to Derek’s rock. “Shit.”

“It’s in the side pocket of my toiletry bag.” Derek pulled the covers up to his chin and grinned. “Stay warm.”

“Fuck you,” Will said with a smile, but he managed to crawl out of bed without letting any cold air in.

Derek shifted and dropped a hand down, idly palming at his dick through his sweatpants. He let his eyes fall shut and only opened them again when the mattress shifted. Will curled up next to him again, and Derek instinctively jerked away from his cold skin.

“God, how are you so cold?”

“Uh, it’s _cold_ out there.”

“Then come over here and get warmed up.”

Will smiled against his mouth. “That was corny.”

“So you have complaints right now?”

“Yeah, I have a whole list, wanna hear it?”

“Oh, please.”

“Well, you still have pants on.”

Derek laughed and wormed a hand between them to shove at the waistband of his pants. Will added to the effort, then his hand was warm against the bare skin of Derek’s hip. “No underwear,” he said admiringly. “I appreciate your foresight. And your optimism.”

Derek inhaled sharply. “Um,” he tried. Will’s hand was on his thigh now, sliding up the inside, and there wasn’t a whole lot of blood left in his brain for menial tasks like talking. “I was, uh, very hopeful.”

The cap of the lube bottle clicked, and Derek gulped. Then Will’s giant hand was on him, slick, and the lube was _warm_ somehow, not the cold shock Derek was expecting. He grunted, in what was surely unattractive fashion, and Will leaned forward to seal their mouths together again.

“Is this—”

Derek nodded furiously and locked his hand around the back of Will’s neck, just in case he got any harebrained ideas about moving right now. “Yeah, just a little tigh— _yes_ , fuck. God, Will.”

Will’s hand was as steady as a metronome, slowly taking Derek apart stroke by careful stroke. His kisses were much _less_ careful, and Derek let himself greedily clutch at his back, at the wide span of his shoulder blades.

Will’s thumb started curling around the head of his dick, just like he liked it, and Derek was going to come way too soon if he didn’t have something to distract him. “Hey,” he murmured into the kiss.

“What?”

“Take off your pants.”

“I’m kinda doing something right now,” he said, squeezing harder for a second, and Derek groaned.

He turned onto his side, regrettably dislodging Will’s hand, and reached for his pants. Will obediently lifted his hips, and Derek yanked them off. His dick was _pretty_ , flushed a dark red at the moment, and Derek itched to touch it. “Lube, where’s the lube?”

They both rifled through the sheets until they finally found it, and Derek hurriedly slicked up his hand. They settled on their sides, legs tangled, and eventually found some semblance of a rhythm. Will was breathing heavily, muffling these glorious noises against Derek’s cheek in between messy kisses, and _why_ in the world did Derek think this would deter him from coming? His grip on Will’s dick slackened as his orgasm swelled at the base of his spine, and Derek’s body locked in a rigid arch when it finally overtook him. He buried his face into the crook of Will’s neck as he shuddered, spilling all over Will’s hand and his own stomach.

“Fuck, Derek,” Will whispered, and Derek maybe whimpered a little as he thrust into Will’s loosening grip a few more times.

“Shit.” Derek twitched through one last aftershock and slumped heavily against Will’s body. “God.”

“That was really hot.”

Derek mumbled something that hopefully sounded like _thanks_ and tried to suck in air.

The motion of something under the sheets brought him out of his semi-doze after a minute, and he grumbled when he reached down to pull Will’s hand off his own dick. “Whoa, hey, hey. My job.”

Will lifted his hand, trying to look innocent, and Derek glared at him. “Would you prefer to do this yourself?”

Will shook his head, his mouth falling open in a flattering little gasp as Derek took him in hand again. It was his left hand, so he was a little clumsy, but he could manage it if he concentrated and went slow. Plus, it had the added bonus of irritating Will.

He groaned and hooked his leg over Derek’s thigh, trying to thrust up against his hand. “Come on,” he said under his breath, but Derek just slowed down even more.

“This is payback.”

“For what?” he gasped.

“Something, I’m sure.”

Will laughed, and Derek rewarded him with a handful of faster strokes. They kissed again, sloppier than before, and Will sucked Derek’s lower lip into his mouth for a nibbling bite before letting go. “Please,” he whispered, and that also deserved a reward.

Derek sped up to a less frustration-inducing speed, and Will panted open-mouthed against Derek’s neck. His hand was clutched, hard, around Derek’s bicep, and he curled into him when he came a minute later, groaning long and low right into Derek’s ear.

He was definitely going to remember that sound.

Derek kept stroking him gently until his hand got batted away, then tipped onto his back. Will went with him, leaning along his side, and Derek curled an arm around his shoulders.

“Shit,” he groaned, making a face, and Will’s hand squeezed where it was spread across his ribs.

“What are you whining about? You seemed pretty happy 30 seconds ago.”

Derek sighed. “I’m very happy. But I just realized that we have to go out there in the frozen tundra to get cleaned up.”

“No we don’t because I brought a towel when I went to go get the lube.”

Derek bit his lip and somehow managed to keep his _I love you_ in his head where it belonged. “You’re so prepared, you’re the best.”

Will laughed and levered himself up on one hand to grab the towel at the foot of the bed. He wiped Derek off first, which was honestly the highest form of chivalry. “You can make it up to me tomorrow.”

“Gladly. One extra blow job tomorrow, on me.”

“Does _extra_ imply that there will be more than one?”

“I dunno, do you think we’ll still be snowed in tomorrow?”

“Well I certainly hope so now.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. ♥
> 
> I'm [leslieknopeismyshiningstar](http://leslieknopeismyshiningstar.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr!


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